Injecting apparatus

ABSTRACT

An injector head for use in apparatus for injecting the fluid into an object in which there are one or more nozzle passages projecting outwardly with terminal portions adapted to engage the object being injected and in which there is valve means for preventing flow of fluid through the nozzle passage until the pressure of the fluid within the nozzle passage reaches a predetermined value at which time the valve means opens abruptly so as to cause a sudden release of the fluid. The injector head preferably has a plurality of nozzles and there is a valve in each nozzle. The valves preferably have their valving surfaces closely adjacent the terminal portions of the nozzle passages so that the change in pressure due to the opening of the valve is immediately transmitted to the fluid entering the object. The injector head is specifically designed for injection of an irregular object such as a turkey and the terminal portions of the nozzle passages are spaced varying distances from a vertical plane to conform with the surface of the object to be injected. The injector head is provided with a passage for circulation of injecting fluid so that where the injecting fluid is maintained at a temperature above the ambient temperature, this insures that the injector head will be maintained at a temperature close to the desired temperature for injecting the fluid and will not cause cooling of the injecting fluid at the time of injection. In one form of the invention, an annular passage is provided for circulating such fluid. In another form, the fluid is circulated through certain of the nozzle passages until such time as the pressure is increased to injecting pressure; at this time, the flow of circulating fluid is interrupted. In the case of an injector head for injecting a turkey, there are two rows of nozzle passages which diverge outwardly and downwardly, the nozzles projecting outwardly from a vertical plane progressively shorter distances proceeding from top to bottom. With this arrangement, the terminal portions of the nozzles fit closely against the opposite sides of the breast of a turkey or similar fowl.

United States Patent [191 Lumby et a1.

[ June 4,1974

[ INJECTING APPARATUS [75] lnventors: Donovan H. Lumby, Brooklyn Center;James T. Buerman, New Brighton; James P. Korzenowski, Minneapolis, allof Minn.

[73] Assignee: Land OLake Inc., Minneapolis,

Minn.

221 Filed: June 1, 1972 21 Appl. No.: 258,768

[52] US. Cl. 99/532 [51] Int. Cl. A22c 9/00, A23b l/16, A47j 43/16 [58]Field of Search 99/532-536,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,035,508 5/1962 Nelson99/533 3.738.576

6/1973 ONeill 239/533 Primary Examiner-Leon G. Machlin Attorney, Agent,or Firm-Frederick E. Lange [5 7 ABSTRACT abruptly so as to cause asudden release of the fluid. The injector head preferably has aplurality of nozzles and there is a valve in each nozzle. The valvespreferably have their valving surfaces closely adjacent the terminalportions of the nozzle passages so that the change in pressure due tothe opening of the valve is immediately transmitted to the fluidentering the object. The injector head is specifically designed forinjection of an irregular object such as a turkey and the terminalportions of the nozzle passages are spaced varying distances from avertical plane to conform with the surface of the object to be injected.

The injector head is provided with a passage for circulation ofinjecting fluid so that where the injecting fluid is maintained at atemperature above the ambient temperature, this insures that theinjector head will be maintained at a temperature close to the desiredtemperature for injecting the fluid and will not cause cooling of theinjecting fluid at the time of injection. In one form of the invention,an annular passage is provided for circulating such fluid. 1n anotherform, the fluid is circulated through certain of the nozzle passagesuntil such time as the pressure is increased to injecting pressure; atthis time, the flow of circulating fluid is interrupted.

1n the case of an injector head for injecting a turkey, there are tworows of nozzle passages which diverge outwardly and downwardly, thenozzles projecting outwardly from a vertical plane progressively shorterdistances proceeding from top to bottom. With this arrangement, theterminal portions of the nozzles fit closely against the opposite sidesof the breast of a turkey or similar fowl.

11 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures PATENTEUJUH 4 1 V $814410? PATENTEDJUH41914 33141007 7 SHEU 3 0? Q l m H WNW.

1 INJECTING APPARATUS BACKGROUND or THE INVENTION The injector head ofthe present invention is particularly designed for use with apparatusfor injecting fluid under very high pressures. The invention isparticularly applicable to the injection of a liquid additive into fowlwhere it is desired to introduce the additive under such high pressurethat it penetrates the skin of the fowl without appreciably rupturingthe same. Injectingapparatus of this type is shown in the co-pendingapplication of Jagannath M. Kudale and Donovan H. Lumby, Ser. No.244,804, filed Apr. 17, I972, for Injecting Apparatus and Method nowU.S. Pat. No. 3,739,713, issued June 19, 1973. In that application,there is disclosed general apparatus for injecting a liquid additiveinto a fowl by the use of very high pressures. The present invention isspecifically concerned with an injecting head for use with suchapparatus.

There has been apparatus in the past for injecting fluid into meat underhigh pressure. The Tichy U.S. Pat. No. 2,4 l 8,914 discusses such amethod but shows no injecting unit. The patent does refer toprojectingthe liquid from a nozzle having a pinpoint opening and using very highpressures. There is, however, no specific discussion of the necessaryapparatus. The Harper et al. US. Pat. No. 3,016,004 does show aplurality of nozzles in a single injector assembly. Here, however,reliance is placed entirely upon the use of relatively high pressure andthe material being injected has a relatively flat surface so that theproblem of firmly engaging the material being injected is relativelysimple. 1

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is concerned with aninjector head in which the fluid is not released through the nozzleopening until the pressure has built up to the desired value and is thenreleased very abruptly. This is accomplished by the use of valve meanswhich is maintained closed until the pressure has reached the desiredvalue, the valve means then opening rapidly. This is accomplished byproviding a pressuresurface on the valve which is effectively increasedin area as the valve starts to open.

In its specific form, the invention is concerned with a plurality ofnozzle passages which are of varying lengths and dispositions so thatthe terminal portions conform with the surface of an irregular object tobe injected. Specifically, where the irregular object is a fowl, thereare two rows of nozzles which diverge outwardly and downwardly andextend progressively shorter distances outwardly from a vertical planeproceeding from top to bottom. In this way, the nozzles are particularlyadapted to firmly engage and conform with opposite sides of the breastof a fowl.

In one form of the invention, the nozzle passages are in the form ofbores extending through a portion of the injector head. In another form,the nozzle passages are formed by nozzle members secured to andprojecting from the injector head.

Means are provided for circulating the fluid being injected through theinjector head prior to the injecting operation. Thus, where theinjecting fluid is heated above ambient temperature, the head ismaintained at a temperature close to that of the injecting temperature.In one form of the invention, there is a separate annular passage forcirculating the fluid prior to injection. In another form, the fluid iscirculated prior to injection by circulating the same through the nozzlepassages. When it is desired to inject the fluid, a valve on the outwardside is automatically closed as the pressure approaches that of theinjecting pressure.

Various other features of the invention will be appar ent from theconsideration of the accompanying specifications, claims and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a side elevational view,with portions in section, of one form of our injector head;

FIG. 2 is an end elevational view of the injector head of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary, horizontal sectional view taken along the line3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of FIG.1;

FIG. 5 is an elevational view, partly schematic, of an apparatusemploying the form of injector head shown in FIGS. 1-4;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the apparatus of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional view of the pump for supplying liquidadditive to the injectorhead, the section being taken along the line 7-7of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is an elevational end view of a modified form i of our injectorhead;

' FIG. 9 is a top plan view of the injector head of FIG. 8 with aportion broken away to show part of the injector head in section;

FIG. I0 is a sectional view of the injector head of FIG. 8 taken alongthe line 10-10 of FIG. 11; and

FIG. 11 is a vertical sectional view of the injector head taken alongthe ling ll-1l of FIG. 10, the injector head being associated with apump for introducing high pressure fluid into the injector head.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring first to FIG. 1, theinjector head is broadly indicated by the reference numeral 10. Theinjector head comprises a main block 11 which has a front wall 20 whichslopes downwardly and backwardly. Extend ing out of the front wall arenozzles 12', 13, 14,15,16, l7, l8 and 19 (see FIG. 2 for nozzles 16',17, l8 and l9). Nozzles 12-15 are disposed in one row and nozzles 16-19in another row. As can best be seen in FIG. 2,

the two rows of nozzles diverge from each other mov-' ing from top tobottom. Furthermore, as is evident from FIG. 1, the nozzles l2, l3, l4and 15 extend outwardly from the back wall of block 11 progressivelyshorter distances starting from the top. While not shown in the drawing,the same is true of nozzles l6, 17, 18 and 19. It will be evident fromFIG. 1 that the orifices 21 and 22 of nozzles 12 and 13 are larger thanthe orifices 23 and 24 of nozzles 14 and 15. Similarly, the orifices innozzles 16 and 17 are larger than the orifices in nozzles 18 and 19. Thepurpose of the difference in size of the orifices and the dispositionand length of the nozzles 14 and 15 will be discussed later.

Referring to FIG. 3, the nozzle 13 is shown in section. It will be notedthat this nozzle takes the form of a closed tube except for the orificeopening 22. The open end of this tube extends into a cylindrical recess26 in block 11, the internal diameter of recess 26 corresponding to theexternal diameter of the nozzle tube.

The nozzle tube of nozzle 13 is retained in place by a plate 27 whichhas an arcuate inner portion engaging in an arcuate slot 28 in thenozzle 13. The retaining plate 27 fits into a recess-in block 1 1 and isheld in position by cap screw 29. The interior of the nozzle 13communicates with a bore 31 in block 11 having the same internaldiameter as the internal diameter of the nozzle 13 so as toform with theinterior of the nozzle 13 an uninterrupted cylindrical passage. Disposedwithin the bore 31 and the nozzle 13 is a cylindrical valve member 33which has at its inner end a pair of spaced collar members 34 and 35between which is disposed an O-ring 36 which engages with the inner wallof bore 31. A spring 37 bears against the outer collar 35 and urges thevalve 33 into engagement with an internal seat 39 at the outer terminalportion of the nozzle 13. Each of the other nozzles 12 through 19 issimilarly constructed and held in place by similar retaining plates 27.

The block 11 has a circular flange 41 which is secured to a verticalbracket 42 by bolts 43 or other similar fasteners. The bracket 42issecured to a base plate 45. The vertical bracket 42 has a centralaperture 46 therethrough and integrally secured with the bracket 42 is aconduit 47 connecting the opening 46 with an opening 49 in the baseplate 45. As will be explained later, the base plate 45 is designed tobe secured to the top of a high pressure pump so that fluid underpressure is forced through conduit 47. The opening 46 through bracket 42communicates with a circular cup-shaped recess 50 bounded by an annularflange 51 projecting inwardly from the vertical bracket 42. Thiscircular cup-shaped recess 50, in turn, communicates with a smallercircular cup-shaped recess 52 in block 11. The recess 52 has openings toeight passages leading to the eight nozzles 12-19. The openings topassages 56, 57, 58 and 59 are shown in FIG. 1. These passages lead tothe nozzles 16, 17, 18 and 19, respectively. The openings to two otherpassages 60 and 61 are shown in FIG. 4, passages 60 and 61 communicatingwith nozzles 14 and 15. A seventh passage is shown in FIG. 3 anddesignated by the reference numeral 62, this passage going to nozzle 13.

As will be explained in more detail later, when injection is takingplace, fluid from the high pressure pump 1 flows through the conduit 47into the cup-shaped recesses and 52.'From the recess 52, the fluid flowsthrough the various passages 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61 and 62 and an eighthrecess, not shown, to the various nozzles 1219. The action can best beseen in connection with FIG. 3 in which nozzle 13 is shown in section.The fluid passes from recess 52 through passage 62 and into the spacebetween the valve 33 and the bore 31. Pressure builds up and exerts apressure on the right-hand side of collar 34 tending to move the valve33 to the left against the action of spring 37 which biases the valve 33to a closed position by reason of spring 37 being compressed between theouter collar 35 and the inner face of bracket member 42. When thepressure on the right-hand side of collar 34 builds up sufficiently toovercome thebiasing force of spring 37, fluid is immediately admittedpast the valve seat 39 so that the end of the valve is now exposed tothe pressure of the fluid.

The area at the end of the valve (minus the area of the.

orifice passage 22) is much greater than the area of the annular area ofcollar 34. The result is that the effective pressure area for the fluidtending to open the valve is suddenly increased and valve 33 is nowmoved abruptly to the left. By reason of this action, once the valve 33starts to open, it moves with a snap action. The advantage of this isthat the delivery of fluid is more sudden in character. No fluid isdelivered until the pressure in the system builds up enough to open thevalve with the fluid acting only on the limited area of collar 34. Onceit opens, however, it opens abruptly so that the fluid is very quicklydischarged. It will also be noted that seat 39 against which a valve 33bears is very close to the outer terminal portion of the nozzle 13. Itwould be possible to have a single valve for all of thEHOZZICS 12-19. Ifthis were done, however, no fluid would be delivered through the nozzleorifices after opening of the valve until all of the nozzles werefilled; the fluid delivery would thus not be as abrupt. By placing thevalve close to the end of each nozzle, once the valve is opened, thefluid is immediately delivered through the nozzle opening with no timedelay or with no diminution of the pressure.

The flange 41 of block 11 is provided with an annular channel 65. Asbest shown in FIG. 4, this annularchannel 65 communicates with two pipes72 and 73 which are integrally joined to the bracket member 42 .andcommunicate, respectively, with passages 74 and 75 therein. As indicatedby arrows in passages 74 and 75, the passage 74 is an inlet passage andthe passage 75 is an outlet passage. The pipe 72 connected with passage.74 leads from a low pressure pump and the pipe 73 connected to outletpassage 75 is a return conduit leading back to a supply of the fluidadditive. The annular passage 65 and the connections thereto provided bypipes 72 and 73 are for the purpose of enabling circulation of the fluidto be injected through the injector head 10 before injection takesplace. As will be explained, it is often desirable to heat the fluid tobe injected above the ambient temperature and by circulating the heatedfluid around the annular passage 65, the head 10 is maintained at atemperature close to the injecting temperature. This minimizes anytendency of the injecting fluid to cool off when it is introduced intothe injector head 10 during the injecting operation.

In order to prevent leakage outwardly from the annular passage 65, anO-ring 69is provided. Similarly, an O-ring 70 is provided adjacent theflange 51 to prevent leakage outfrom the cup-shapedrecesses 50 and 52into which the high pressure injecting 'fluid is introduced.

In FIGS. 5, 6 and 7, there is shown apparatus employing our novelinjector head. This apparatus employs means for positioning the objectbeing injected against the nozzles and for introducing fluid into theannular passage 65 and for introducing injectingfluid into the nozzlesduring the injecting operation. Referring first to FIG. 5, the numeralgenerally indicates a frame upon which the injecting apparatus ismounted. The injecting apparatus comprises a table 82 supported on apost 83 mounted in any suitable way on the frame 80. Partiallysurrounding the table 82 is a platform 87. This platform is supported byposts 88, 89, and and other posts (not shown). Secured to this platform87 is the vertical bracket 42 to which the injection head 10 is secured.Thenozzlesl6 through 19 are shown as projecting from the injection head.To avoid an excessive number of reference characters in FIGS. 5 and 6,only nozzles 12, 15,16 and 19 have been specifically identifled byreference numerals in these figures. 'As will be noted in FIGS. 1 and 2,in which a turkey 88 is shown as disposed on the table 82, the turkey ispositioned on its back so that the lower portion of the breast isadjacent the uppermost of the nozzles 12 through 19.

It will also be noted that with the turkey 88 lying on its back, thelongitudinal axis of the nozzles 12 through 19 is disposed at an angleof approximately with respect to the front wall of the breast of theturkey. The pectoral muscles of the turkey tend to run generallyparallel to the lower surface of the turkey (the upper surface in thedrawing). The nozzles thus tend to be disposed at an angle ofapproximately 45 or less with respect to the pectoral muscles. It hasbeen found that it is desirable that the fluid'be injected at an angleof from 15 to with respect to the general disposition of the pectoralmuscles.

Disposed at the opposite end of the fowl 88 from the nozzle 12 through19 is a posterior engaging member 90 shaped in the form of a frustum ofa hollow pyramid which is shown as square in cross-section. In otherwords, the posterior engaging member has four sloping straight walls,all of which slope inwardly as they approach the rear of member 90-.These walls are thus designed to engage and partially surround theposterior portion of the fowl 88 so as to hold it firmly againstsidewise movement. Secured to the rear of the posterior engaging member90 is a yoke 91 which is pivotally scured to a bar 92. This bar 92 is,in turn, pivotally secured at 93 to an ear 94 secured to the verticalpost 83. Rigidly secured to the upper end of bar 92 is a handle member95 which projects in the general direction of the injection head 10. Itwill be readily apparent that an operator standing to one side of themachine, by grasping handle 95, can pull the bar 92 forwardly about thepivot 93 and press the clamping member 90 into engagement with theturkey 88, moving the breast portion of the same against the nozzles 12through 19. The nozzles 12-19 are disposed so as to engage the bird onopposite sides and aid in retaining the same against sidewise movement.

The means for supplying the liquid additive to the injector head 10 willnow be described. The liquid additive is normally maintained in a tankthrough which runs a heating coil 101. This heating coil is suppliedwith hot water from'a suitable source 102 of hot water, there being apmp 103 to circulate the water from the source 102 through the coil 101.It is, of course, to be understood that an ordinary domestic source ofhot water may be employed for supplying the water to coil 101 in whichcase the normal pressure exerted on the water would make unnecessary theprovision of a pump, such as pump 103. As a result of the heating coil101, the additive is kept in a liquid state. One additive which isparticularly desirable in the case of fowl is butter which is normallyrelatively solid at room temperatures. By heating it through the use ofa heating coil, such as coil 101, the butter is maintained in a liquidstate.

The supply pipe 47 of the injector head forms an integral extension ofthe outlet of a pump 108, the base plate 45 constituting the upper wallof the pump. The pump 108 is shown in section in FIG. 7. It will benoted that the pump has a piston 109 movable within a cylinder 110. Thecylinder 110 is secured in fluid-tight relation to a fluid distributorblock 11. The piston 109 is secured to a piston rod 112 which has atransverse passage 113 extending therethrough. Communicating with thetransverse passage is a valve seat 114 against which seats a springpressed valve 115. The fluid distributor block 111 has an inlet passage117 and an outlet passage 118. A restrictor 119 is placed in the outletpassage. The inlet passage 117 communicates with the space beneath thepiston 109 and is in communication with the transverse passage 113.

The inlet passage 117 is connected to a conduit 120 and the outletpassage 118 to a conduit 121. Secured to the distributor block 111 arethe two conduits 72 and 73 previously referred to in connection withFIG. 4. Both conduits are secured to the block in fluid-tight relation,conduit 72 being in communication with'the inlet passage 117 andconduit73 in communication with the outlet passage 118 through therestrictor 119. A suitable seal 124 is provided in the block 61 to guardagainst loss of fluid around the piston rod 112. As was previouslydescribed, the vertical pipes 72 and 73 are connected to the annularpassage 65 in the injector head 10. lt will thus be apparent that fluidentering the inlet passage 117 can pass up through pipe 72, through theannular passage 65 of the injector head, out through passage 73, andback through the restrictor 119 to pipe 121.

Inlet pipe 120 connects with the outlet of a pump 129 operated by ahydraulic motor 129. The inlet of the pump 128 is connected through apipe 127 to the interior of the tank 100 containing heated butter orother liquid additive. The pipe 127 preferably extends to a pointadjacent the bottom of tank 100. Pipe 121 connected to the outlet ofpump 108 is also connected to tank 100 and acts as a return line. Thus,when the pump is operating and no liquid is being injected into a fowl,the liquid flows from tank 100, through the pump 128, pipe 120, inletpassage 117 of pump 108, pipe 72, the annular passage 65 of injectorhead 10, pipe 73, the restrictor 119, and the return pipe 121 back tothe tank 100. Thus, heated fluid is constantly circulated through theinjector head 10 to maintain it at a proper temperature so that whenliquid additive is introduced through pipe 47 for injection through thenozzles 12 through 19, the liquid additive will not be cooled upon beingintroduced into the injector head.

The hydraulic motor 129 is operated by a hydraulic fluid pump throughtwo pipes 130 and 131, pipe 131 being the supply pipe and pipe 130the'return pipe. While we have shown hydraulic motor 129 schematicallyas a rotary motor, this is for purposes of illustration only and it isto be understood that any suitable hydraulic motor can be employed, suchas a reciprocating piston type of motor. In this case, the pump 128could be a reciprocating piston type of pump, such as pump 108.

Referring to the operation of pump 108, when piston rod 112 is movedupwardly, the valve in the piston 109 is held closed by the springengaging the same and by the downward pressure of the liquid. The liquidabove the piston 109 is thus forced upwardly through pipe 47. At thesame time, due to the fact that the valve 115 is closed, liquid additivesupplied by pump 128 through pipe flows in on the underside of thepiston 109, fllling'the space in the cylinder beneath the piston 109.When the piston rod 112 moves downwardly, valve 115 is forced off of itsseat and liquid beneath the piston 109 flows through the transversepassage 113 and past the valve 115 to the space above the piston 109.Thus, the space in the cylinder 110 above the piston 109 is refilledready for the next upward movement of piston 109. Because of therestrictor 119 in the return line, there is always sufficient pressurein the inlet passage 117 to force valve 115 off of its seat as thepiston 109 moves downwardly. It is to be understood that the pressure ofthe fluid flowing through pipe 47 is much higher than that supplied bypump 128. All that the pump 128 needs to do is to supply sufficientpressure to insure adequate circulation of the fluid through the head 10and to provide an adequate supply of fluid for introduction into thepump 108 when it is being operated. The pump 108, on the other hand,must supply very high pressures. In actual practice, pressures from 600to 1,000 pounds per square inch are employed in order to secure the veryhigh pressure necessary to cause the injected liquid additive to passthrough the skin of the fowl.

As has been described previously, the valves in the nozzles 12 through19 open abruptly when the pressure supplied by pump 108 reaches thedesired injecting pressure. Thus, the liquid additive is releasedsuddenly through the nozzles.

The piston rod 112 of pump 108 is operated by a hydraulic motor 132which is of the reciprocating piston type. Hydraulic fluid is suppliedto one side of the piston by supply pipe 133 and at the other side ofthe piston by pipe 134. Piston rod 112 is moved upwardly by hydraulicmotor 132 when it is desired to force fluid through pipe 47 into theinjector'head 10. When injection is completed, the piston is moveddownwardly by the motor 132. 1

Reference has been made to hydraulic fluid flowing through pipes 130,131, 133 and 134. The means for forcing hydraulic fluid flow throughthese pipes will now be described. Located on a platform extension 137of the main frame 80 are two hydraulic pump units 135 and 136. Each ofthese pump units include a container filled with hydraulic fluid andarotary hydraulic pump immersed in the fluid. The conduit 130 previouslyre ferred to is connected to-the outlet of pump unit 135 and conduit 131is connected to the inlet passage of the pump unit 135. Conduits 133 and134. connected to the hydraulic cylinder 132 are connected to pump unit136 and to deliver it to the hydraulic motors 129 and 132v in greatervolume for a short period of time than would be possible if the liquidwere supplied directly by the pumps driven by motors 138 and 139. Anysuitable switching means may be provided to control the energization ofmotors 138 and 139.

It is desirable to adjust the amount of liquid injected by high pressurepump 108 through the nozzles 12 through 19 in accordance with the weightof the fowl. For this purpose, we have provided a switch-145. This isconnected through conductors 146 and 147 to'a solenoid valve 154 whichcontrols the connection of conduit 133 from the pump unit 136 tohydraulic motor vertical position of switch 145 is adjusted by a cam 151which is secured through any suitable mechanical conthat as arm 153 isadjusted in accordance with the weight of the bird being injected, thecam 151 is similarly adjusted to act on lever 149 to move the switch 145up or down. Switch 145 is of the precision snap switch type having abutton projecting downwardly therefrom. This button is designed to beengaged by a collar 162 secured to the piston rod 112. Obviously, as thehydraulic unit 132 moves the piston rod 112'upwardly to actuate piston109 of the pump 108, the collar 162 will eventually engage the button ofswitch .145. When this happens, switch 145 is actuated to affect theenergization of solenoid valve 154 to stop operation so that no morefluid is injected into the bird. While I have I shown the switch 145 ascontrolling the amount of fluid delivered through the nozzles, it. willbe appreciated that any other suitable form of volume limitingtransducercan be used.

The solenoid valve 154 may control the flow of hydraulic liquid throughthe hoses 133 and 134 in any suitable manner. For example, when thecircuit including conductors 146 and 147 is interrupted by opening ofswitch 145, the solenoid valve 154 may be effective to interrupt theconnection of conduit 133 to pump unit 136 and to connect conduit 133 toa return to the reservoir to permit the hydraulic fluid beneath thepiston of hydraulic motor 82 to return to the reservoir.

The conduit 131 supplying fluid to pump 129 is connected to a secondsolenoid valve 155.1The solenoid valve 155, when deenergized, iseffective to terminate flow of hydraulic fluid through pipes 130 and 131and pump 129 even though the motor 138 is running; For example, solenoidvalve 155 may interrupt the supply of fluid to supply pipe 131 andbypass it to the reservoir in the container of the pump unit 135. Thus,solenoid valve 155, like solenoid valve 154, controls whether liquid issupplied to the hydraulic motor 132 associated therewith.

OPERATION or THE INJECTOR HEAD OF FIGS.

When it is desired to inject fowl, an adequate supply of the additive isplaced in container 100 and the pumpe 103 is started to circulate hotwater through the heat exchanger 101 to insure that the additive, suchas butter, is in a liquid state before the injecting operation is tostart. The proper switch buttons are actuated to start the motors 138and 139 to, in turn, place into operation the pump units and 136. Asuitable switch button is operated to actuate the solenoid to admithydraulic fluid to the hose 131 and to interrupt its bypass connectionwith the reservoir. This causes a flow of hydraulic fluid through thehoses 130 and 131 to actuate the hydraulic motor 129 to, in turn,operate pump 128. This causes liquid additive to flow from the supplyline 127 through pump 128, pipe 120, inlet passage 117 of pump 108, pipe72, the annular passage 65 in injector head 10, pipe 73, restrictor 119and pipe v121 back to the tank 100 containing the liquid additive. Assoon as this has taken place for a sufficient period of time to causethe injector head 10 to be warmed up, it is now possible to injectliquid additive into a fowl.

A fowl is now placed on the able 82 with the back of the fowl resting onthe table. After the weight of the bird has been determined either byestimating it or by weighing it, the arm 153 is adjusted to adjust thepositionof switch 145 to adjust the amount of liquid additive to beintroduced in accordance with the weight of the fowl. The handle 95 isnow grasped and pulled forwardly to move the fowl 88 towards the nozzles12 through 19 until the nozzles firmly engage the breast of the fowl.Solenoid valve 154 is now energized so as to admit fluid to conduit 133and to interrupt its bypass connection with the reservoir. This causesoperation of hydraulic motor 132 to force the piston rod 112 upwardly.The upper movement of piston rod 112 forces piston 109 of pump 108upwardly to force fluid into the injector head under very high pressuresuch as, for example, from 600 to 1,000 pounds per square inch.

The fluid entering the injector head 10, as previously explained, entersthe recesses 50 and 52 through the various passages 57, 58, 59, 60, 61and 63 and the passage (not shown) to the interiors of the nozzles 12through 19. As has been described in connection with the nozzle 13, asshown in FIG. 3, the pressure on the right-hand shoulder of the collar34 will open the valve and as soon as this happens, the pressure face onwhich the pressure is acting increases abruptly to open the valve in thenozzle with a snap action. Because the valve action occurs at the end ofthe nozzle, the fluid is immediately released through the nozzleorifices. Thus, simultaneously, fluid is released at high pressurethrough all of the nozzles 12 through 19. As has been previouslyexplained, the orifice openings in the upper nozzles are somewhat largerthan those in the lower nozzles so that a proportionally greater amountof fluid is introduced through the upper nozzles than through the lowernozzles. This is particularly important in connection with the injectionof fowl where the fowl is placed on its back, as shown in FIG. 5. Underthese conditions, the nozzles 12 through 19 are pressing against thebreast of the turkey and the upper nozzles 12, 13, 16 and 17 arepressing against the portion ofthe breast with a large amount of muscletissue. It is hence desirable to introduce more fluid into theseportions of the breast of the fowl. The disposition of the nozzles andthe. high pressure at which the additive is introduced causes theadditive to penetrate the fowl through the skin without appreciablyrupturing the same and causes the additive to penetrate through asubstantial portion of the fowl. The angular disposition of the nozzleswith respect to the pectoral muscles tends to cause the liquid additiveto splatter within the fowl as it hits the various muscle walls.'As soonas the piston has moved an amount corresponding to the desired injec-"tion of the fluid, the collar 162 engages the button of switch 145 todeenergize the solenoid valve 154, interrupting the connection of pump136 to line 133 and connecting this line to a bypass to the reservoir inthe pump unit 136. The injecting process is now completed and the handle95 can be released and the turkey removed.

MODIFICATION OF FIGS. 8 TO 11 In the embodiment of the injector headshown in FIGS. 1 through 4, the nozzle members were secured within ablock and the standby circulation of injecting fluid was in an annularpassage in the base of the block. In the modification of FIGS. 8 through11, the nozzle passages are formed as bores in a plurality of platesattached to the main block and the standby circulation is through thesenozzle passages.

Referring first to FIG. 8 in which the injector head is shown in endelevation, looking directly at the nozzles, the nozzle passages areformed in two flat blocks or plates and 161 secured to the sides of acentral block 162. The sides of the block 162 to which the nozzle blocks160 and 161 are secured diverge away from each other extending from thetop of the block to the bottom. Thus, the two rows of nozzle passageslocated in blocks 160 and 161 are likewise disposed so that they divergeoutwardly proceeding from top to bottom. This is'the same type ofdisposition of the nozzles as in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 through 4 inwhich separate nozzle tubes were employed. The blocks 160 and 161 aresecured to the central block 162 by studs 164 or other suitablefastening means. The central block 162 is in turn held in position on amanifold block 165.

The disposition of the nozzle blocks 160 and 161 on the central block162 is also shown in FIG. 9 which is a top plan view of the injectorhead. It will be noted that the central block 162 is relatively short ascompared with the nozzle block 160 and 161. It will also be noted thatthe blocks 160 and 161 have their rear ends somewhat forward of the rearend of block 162. Secured to the rear end of block 162 is a plate 167.This plate 167 extends beyond the center block 162 to overlie the endsof blocks 160 and 161 in spaced relation thereto.

In FIG. 10, the injector block is shown with a vertical section beingtaken through the center of the manifold block and a central sectionthrough the nozzle block 160, the section line being shown in FIG. 11and designated by the numeral 1010. It will be noted from the sectionthrough block 160 that there are four nozzle passages 170, 171, 172 and173. In each of these nozzle passages, there is disposed a valve member.Since the valves in the uppermost passage and the lowermost passage 173are identical except for length, each is designated by the samereference character 174 and only one of these two valves will bedescribed. Each valve 174 has a tapered outer end 175 which cooperateswith a valve seat, 176 immediately behind an orifice 177. Towards therear end of the valve there is a collar portion 178. The outer diameterof the collar portion 178 is the same as the inner diameter of thenozzle passage so that the collar serves to slidably engage the interiorof the wall of the nozzle passage. Spaced further to the rear of thenozzle passage is a further collar portion 179. An O-ring is disposed inthe groove between collar portions 178 and 179. At the rear end ofcollar portion 179, it is enlarged to form a collar 180 having adiameter substantially greater than that of the nozzle passage, thecollar 180 being disposed behind the nozzle block 160 and between thenozzle block and the plate 167 previously referred to. A spring 182surrounds the rear end of the valve mem ber 174 engaging the rear wallof the collar 180. The spring fits into a slight recess in the plate 167and is compressed between plate 167 and a collar 182 so as to urge thevalve 174 to the right into engagement with the valve seat 176. One ofthe functions of plate 167 is to retain in position the springs 182 ofthe various valve members in the nozzle passages.

Orifice 177 of nozzle passage 170 has been referred to. The orifices ofnozzle passages 171, 172 and 173 are respectively indicated by thereference numerals 185, 186 and 187. These orifices are likewise visiblein FIG. 8. It will be noted that as with the species of FIGS. 14, theupper orifices 177 and 185 are larger than the lower orifices 186 and187. It will be appreciated that the same relationship exists betweenthe upper and lower orifices in nozzle block 161.

The outer portions of nozzle passages 170, 171, 172 and 173 areconnected by a diagonal passage 190. This may be formed by drilling adiagonal passage in the block 160 starting from the bottom of the blockand closing the end with a plug 191. As will be presently explained, thecirculation of liquid prior to injection is accomplished by introducingliquid into the inner or left hand portion of nozzle passage 173 andcirculating it through the nozzle passage 173, the diagonal passage 190and the nozzle passage 170 back to a return. The purpose of this is thesame as the circulation of the heated liquid through annular passage 65in the modifications of FIGS. 1 through 4. In this connection, it willbe noted in FIG. that there is an opening 193 communicating with theleft hand or inner portion of passage 173. This passage 193 constitutesan inlet for the fluid and is connected through an internal channel incirculated through nozzle passages 173 and 170 as traced above. Theoutlet opening 194 communicates with a return pipe back to the supply ofliquid, as will be presently explained It was noted above that thevalves in nozzle passages 170 and 173 are identical except for length.The valves in intermediate passages 171 and 172 are different from thosein the outermost passages in that in lieu of collars 178 at the rear ofthe valves, the similar collars are located near the forward end of thevalves just behind the diagonal passage 190. Referring specifically tothe valve in passage 171, this has been designated by the referencenumeral 224. Like valve 174, it has an enlarged collar 180 at the rearwhich is engaged by a spring 182. Unlike valve 174, however,- the valve224 has a collar 228 near its forward end just behind diagonal passage190. This collar is spaced from a main enlarged portion of the valvesufficiently to permit the insertion of an O-ring 229. By reason of thecollar being just back of the diagonal passage 190, fluid cannot enterthe space between the major portion of valve 224 and the internal wallof bore 171. This is for the purpose of reducing as much as possible theamount of fluid present between the valve and the chamber and hence toreduce any inertia or lag in the injection of the fluid. It is to beunderstood that the valve 224 in passage 172 is likewise spaced justback of the diagonal passage 190. It is also to be understood that thevalve in the nozzle passages in block 161 correspond to those justdescribed in block 160. In other words, the valves in the upper andlower nozzle passages of block 161 have their collars back toward therear of the block while the valves in the intermediate passages havetheir collars disposed near the front end of the valve just back of thediagonal passage in that block.

Before going further into the manner in which the fluid is circulated,the arrangement by which the central block 162 is attached to themanifold block 165 will be discussed. As shown in dotted lines in FIG. 8and in section in FIG. 11, the bottom of the central block 162 has afrustoconical projection 197 which fits into a corresponding recess in agasket member 208 of some suitable plastic material such aspolytetrafluoroethylene disposed in a. counterbore in manifold block165. The block is held in place on the manifold by a pair of cap screws203 extending centrally through the block 162 into the manifold block165. The frustoconical projection 197 is machined and cooperates withthe gasket 208 to provide a high pressure seal when the cap screws 203are tightened.

The manner in which the fluid is circulated through the nozzles prior toinjection is best shown in FIG. 11. In this case, the pump 196corresponds generally to the pump 108 of FIG. 7 but is slightlydifferent in the fluid distributor block beneath the pump. In order toenable a ready comparison of the pumps 108 and 196, similar referencecharacters have been applied to corresponding elements which are similarin the two pumps. No attempt will be made to repeat the explanation ofthese elements. In the case of the present pump, the fluid distributorblock 198 has a somewhat different configuration than the block 111 ofpump 108. In the case of block 198, there is a single passage 199 whichis connected to the inlet pipe 'leading, as in connection 1 with theprevious embodiment, to pump 128. Fluid entering this pipe 120 passesthrough the passage 199,

past the check valve 115 and into the passage 195 in the manifold block165. It will be understood that the manifold block is secured to thecylinder 110 of pump 196 by cap screws 200 or other similar fasteningmeans. A suitable gasket is maintained between the members to preventfluid'leakage therebetween. From the passage 195, fluid passes upwardlythrough a central passage 201 in the central block 162 and from thereinto a transverse passage 202 which extends completely across the block162 communicating with the inlet openings 193 in the nozzle blocks and161.

There is a further transverse passage 204 in the upper cated a spoolvalve 207 having a central aperture 209- therethrough which communicateswith the passage 205. The spool valve 207 is biased against therighthand end of the chamber 206 by a spring 210. It is adapted when thepressure exerted on its right-hand face exceeds a-predetermined value tomove to the left against a fixed valve member 211 and to seal off thepassage through the valve 207. A suitable O-ring gasket 208 is providedin the outer wall of spool valve 207 to engage thewall of valve chamber206 to prevent leakage past the valve when it is seated against thevalve means 211. A plurality of diagonal passages 213 are providedadjacent the valve member 211 and when the valve 207 is in the positionshown, the fluid passing through passages 205 and 209 passes through thediagonal passages 213. These passages communicate with a passage 214 inthe end plate 167. Secured to the end plate 167 is a sanitary pipefitting 216 which is, in turn, coupled through any conventional type ofcoupling used in such sanitary fittings with the return pipe 121returning to the tank 100.

In normal operation, prior to the time that it is desired to injectfluid, the heated fluid from tank 100 is pumped by pump 128 through pipe120 through the passage 199, past the check valve 115, through thepassage 195 in block 165, through transverse passage 202 to the openings193 in blocks 160 and 161. The two blocks are mirror images of eachother and the operation in connection with block 160, shown in FIG. 10,is the same as that of block 161. The fluid entering the inlet passage193 passes through the nozzle passage 173, as previously described,through the diagonal passage 190, through the nozzle passage 170,through the. opening 194, through the transverse passage 204, throughthe longitudinal passage 205, through passage 209v of the spool valve207 and through the diagonal passages 213 and through opening 214 inplate 167 to the'return pipe 121 which leads back to the tank l00. Itwill be readily appreciated that this operation results in thecirculation of heated fluid through the nozzle blocks themselves. Thishas the advantage over the arrangement of F lGS. 1 through 4 in that theheating is not confined to the base of the block but extends throughoutthe nozzle blocks. It will also be appreciated that the circulation justdescribed results in the area above the piston 109 being filled withfluid and with all of the space between the valves 174 and the nozzlepassages in blocks 165 and 161 being filled with fluid. Due, however, tothe location of the collars 228 of valves 224 just behind the diagonalpassage 190, very little fluid is retained betwen the valves 224 ofnozzle passages 17] and 172.

Let it be assumed now that it is desired to inject and the necessaryaction is taken to cause operation of hydraulic motor 132 in the mannerpreviously described in connection with the previous embodiment. Thepiston 109 is now moved upwardly to exert very high pressure on thefluidin the nozzle passages and to cause a large volume of fluid to flow.This will result in an increased pressure-being exerted upon theright-hand side of the spool valve, 207 tending to cause the latter tomove to the left to engage the valve 211. when this happens, flow offluid through passage 209 is blocked and the pressure within the nozzlepassages in the nozzle blocks 160 and 161 builds up rapidly. Thepressure exerted by this fluid or collar 178 against the action ofsprings 182 results in the various valves 174 and 224 moving away fromtheir seats. As soon as this happens, the pressure faces against whichthe fluid is working to open the valves increases abruptly so that thevalves 174 and 224 move quickly away from their seats to cause animmediate release of the fluid through the nozzle 177. The same actionoccurs almost simultaneously in connection with each of the nozzles sothat there is an immediate release of the extremely high pressure fluid.

it will be seen that the modification of H68. 8 through 11 produces thesame result of releasing the high pressure fluid abruptly. In the caseof a fowl, this results in the liquid additive passing through the skinwithout appreciably rupturing the same. The arrangement of P168. 8through 11 does have the advantage that its construction makes it mucheasier to comply with the desirable sanitary requirements. It will benoted that there is a minimum of area in which the injecting fluidstands prior to injection. The location of the collars 228 for theintermediate valves prevents fluid from entering the space between thesevalves and the nozzle passages. As for nozzle passages and 173, there isa constant circulation of fluid through these passages so that they tendto be self-scrubbing. Furthermore, it will be readily apparent that byremoval of plate 167, all of the valves in the various nozzle passagescan be easily removed and cleaned. The entire nozzle can be readilydisassembled for cleaning purposes. Thus, a high degree of sanitationcan be readily obtained in connection with the nozzle block of FIGS. 8through 11.

CONCLUSlON It will be seen thatwe have provided a unique form ofinjector head for use with injecting apparatus in which the material isinjected abruptly at very high pressures. It will also be seen that theinjector head provides for circulation of injecting fluid whileinjection is not taking place so as to maintainthe injector head at thedesired injecting temperature. The-injector head-is particularly adaptedfor injecting meat and fowl, especially the latter; this is because ofthe shape and dispo-,

sition of the nozzles. Furthermore, the injector head of the presentinvention is particularly adapted for use with meat or poultry where itis necessary to maintain a high degree of sanitation. While we haveshown certain specific embodiments. of the invention for the purposes ofillustration, it is to be understood that the scope is to be limitedsolely by the appended claims.

We claim as our invention:

1. In apparatus for engaging a non-planar surface of an irregularlyshaped object and injecting a fluid into the object:

an injector head for engaging the object and injecting fluid therein,said injector head having an inlet opening adapted to be connected to asource of fluid under pressure,

said injector head having a plurality of nozzle passages thereinconnected to said inlet opening and projecting outwardly varyingdistances from a plane substantially perpendicular to said passages sothat the terminal portions of said nozzle passages approximately conformwith the non-planar surface of the injected object engaged by theinjector head,

valve means for preventing flow of fluid through said nozzle passages,

and means for maintaining said valve means closed until the pressure ofthe fluid reaches a predetermined value, said valve means beingeffective to open abruptly upon opening movement being initiated.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 in which the valve means consists of aplurality of valves, one for each of said nozzle passages, and in whicheach of said valves has a valving surface closely adjacent the terminalportion of the associated nozzle passage.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 in which the injector head has a passageconnected to said inlet opening, and an outlet opening connected to saidpassage for circulating the fluid to be injected therethrough prior tothe injection operation so that the injector head is maintained at atemperature approximatelycorresponding with the temperature of thefluid.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 in which the passage for circulation offluid through said injector head is an annular passage located closelyadjacent the inlet portion of the nozzle passage.

5. The apparatus of claim 3 in which the passage for circulating fluidto be injected prior to the injecting operation includes a pluralityofsuch nozzle passages and in which valve means is provided forinterrupting such circulation when the injection operation is to beinitiated.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 in which said valve means for interruptingsuch circulation is pressure actuated and is responsive to theestablishment of a pressure above a predetermined value to actuate saidvalve means to interrupt such circulation of fluid through the injectorhead.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 in which saidnozzle passages are in the formof bores extending through a portion of said injector head.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 in which said nozzle passages are formed bynozzle members secured to and projecting from the injector head.

9. ln apparatus for injecting a fluid additive into the flesh of a fowlto improve the eating qualitites thereof:

an injector head for engaging the breast of the fowl to inject fluidtherein; said injector head'having two rows of nozzle passages divergingdownwardly away from each other, said nozzle passages of each rowprojecting outwardly progressively shorter distances, proceeding fromone end of the row to the other, from a plane, substantiallyperpendicular to said passages so that the terminal portions of saidpassages approximately conform with the surface of the breast of atypical fowl; and

said injector head having an inlet opening adapted to be connected to asource of fluid additive under high pressure and said inlet openingcommunicating with each of said nozzle passages.

10.The apparatus of claim 9 in which the orifice through the terminalportion of the uppermost of said nozzle passages is greater than thatthrough the lowermost of said nozzle passages so that a greater amountof fluid is injected in the portion of the breast of the fowl adjacentthe upper nozzle.

11. The apparatus of claim 9 in which-a valve is located in each of saidnozzle passages with the valving surface of the valve closely adjacentthe terminal portion of the nozzle passage so that the change inpressure upon the valve opening is immediatelytransferred to the fluidentering the object.

} UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFICE CERTIFICATE F QRRECHGN 3,814,007 DatedJune 4, 1974 Donovan H. Lumby, James T. Buerman, and James P.Korzenowski Patent No.

Inventor(s It is certified that error appears in the above-identifiedpatent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

In the heading, Item [73] the name of the Assignee should be changedfrom "Land O'Lake Inc." to Land O'Lakes, Inc. Column 5, line 28 change"soured" to secured line 46, "pmp" should be pump line 66, "block 11"should be block 111 Column 6, line 25, the numeral "129" at the end ofthe line should be 128 Column 9, line 3, "able 82" should be table 82-.Column 13, line 35, the numeral "165" should be 160 Signed and sealedthis 5th day" of November 1974.

(SEAL) Attest:

McCOY M. GIBSON JR. Attesting Officer C. MARSHALL DANN Comissioner ofPatents USCOMM-DC 60376-P69 FORM PO-1050 (10-69) a u.s. covznumzmPRINTING OFFICE I969 0-366-334

1. In apparatus for engaging a non-planar surface of an irregularlyshaped object and injecting a fluid into the object: an injector headfor engaging the object and injecting fluid therein, said injector headhaving an inlet opening adapted to be connected to a source of fluidunder pressure, said injector head having a plurality of nozzle passagestherein connected to said inlet opening and projecting outwardly varyingdistances from a plane substantially perpendicular to said passages sothat the terminal portions of said nozzle passages approximately conformwith the non-planar surface of the injected object engaged by theinjector head, valve means for preventing flow of fluid through saidnozzle passages, and means for maintaining said valve means closed untilthe pressure of the fluid reaches a predetermined value, said valvemeans being effective to open abruptly upon opening movement beinginitiated.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 in which the valve means consistsof a plurality of valves, one for each of said nozzle passages, and inwhich each of said valves has a valving surface closely adjacent theterminal portion of the associated nozzle passage.
 3. The apparatus ofclaim 1 in which the injector head has a passage connected to said inletopening, and an outlet opening connected to said passage for circulatingthe fluid to be injected therethrough prior to the injection operationso that the injector head is maintained at a temperature approximatelycorresponding with the temperature of the fluid.
 4. The apparatus ofclaim 3 in which the passage for circulation of fluid through saidinjector head is an annular passage located closely adjacent the inletportion of the nozzle passage.
 5. The apparatus of claim 3 in which thepassage for circulating fluid to be injected prior to the injectingoperation includes a plurality of such nozzle passages and in whichvalve means is provided for interrupting such circulaTion when theinjection operation is to be initiated.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5 inwhich said valve means for interrupting such circulation is pressureactuated and is responsive to the establishment of a pressure above apredetermined value to actuate said valve means to interrupt suchcirculation of fluid through the injector head.
 7. The apparatus ofclaim 1 in which said nozzle passages are in the form of bores extendingthrough a portion of said injector head.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1 inwhich said nozzle passages are formed by nozzle members secured to andprojecting from the injector head.
 9. In apparatus for injecting a fluidadditive into the flesh of a fowl to improve the eating qualititesthereof: an injector head for engaging the breast of the fowl to injectfluid therein; said injector head having two rows of nozzle passagesdiverging downwardly away from each other, said nozzle passages of eachrow projecting outwardly progressively shorter distances, proceedingfrom one end of the row to the other, from a plane, substantiallyperpendicular to said passages so that the terminal portions of saidpassages approximately conform with the surface of the breast of atypical fowl; and said injector head having an inlet opening adapted tobe connected to a source of fluid additive under high pressure and saidinlet opening communicating with each of said nozzle passages.
 10. Theapparatus of claim 9 in which the orifice through the terminal portionof the uppermost of said nozzle passages is greater than that throughthe lowermost of said nozzle passages so that a greater amount of fluidis injected in the portion of the breast of the fowl adjacent the uppernozzle.
 11. The apparatus of claim 9 in which a valve is located in eachof said nozzle passages with the valving surface of the valve closelyadjacent the terminal portion of the nozzle passage so that the changein pressure upon the valve opening is immediately transferred to thefluid entering the object.